Once again, the cardiac kids of ‘Iolani snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Max Look returned a bouncing punt 59 yards for a touchdown, and Reece Foy found Tanner Nishioka for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 1:14 left as No. 8 ‘Iolani rallied for a stunning 16-10 win over Pac-Five on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.
The touchdown pass gave the Raiders (4-0) a 14-10 lead. Moments later, Esau Sele’s third sack of the game resulted in a safety, pushing ‘Iolani’s lead to 16-10 with 27 seconds remaining.
Chase Kanekuni then recovered Pac-Five’s onside kick to end all hope of an upset. ‘Iolani opened Interscholastic League of Honolulu play with the win, but a Pac-Five upset could’ve thrown the balance of power for a loop, especially with Damien off to a strong start in nonconference action.
Pac-Five led 10-0 with less than 4 minutes to play.
"We just got lucky," ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look said of yet another narrow win.
The Raiders rallied to beat Konawaena 43-40, then pulled out a 35-34 victory over Waipahu a week later. It looked like they were out of luck this time as Pac-Five rammed the ball down ‘Iolani’s defense, with Keoni Tom-Millare, who finished with 150 yards on 32 carries before leaving with an injury late in the contest.
"Pac-Five deserved to win. They had a great game plan. We were killing ourselves with penalties and a bad snap, then we started turning it over," coach Look said.
Foy entered the game with a sizzling 72 percent completion percentage, but the Wolfpack stymied ‘Iolani’s run-and-shoot. The senior completed just eight of his 16 attempts in the first half.
Pac-Five drove 66 yards in 13 plays to score on its second series. Reece Alvarado responded to a sack by hitting Tsubasa Brennan and Ian Schumaker for big pass plays, and Tom-Millare raced over the goal line from 12 yards out to give Pac-Five a 7-0 lead with 2:17 left in the opening quarter.
‘Iolani drove twice into Wolfpack territory before the half, but stalled each time. A pick by Kevin Togami at midfield set up one of the possessions, but an illegal block penalty disrupted the drive at the 20-yard line.
Foy had just 57 passing yards at intermission and was sacked twice.
Gabriel Shimizu’s 33-yard field goal opened Pac-Five’s lead to 10-0 with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter, and after Nick Kwon’s fumble recovery four plays later, the ‘Pack appeared to be in control.
Kwon blocked a 28-yard field-goal try by Jordan Genovia with 9:39 to go, but Pac-Five’s offense stalled for two series. Then came a short punt that bounced high, and Pac-Five’s coverage team backpedaled from the ball. That’s when Look zoomed in and snatched it in stride.
"It was dropping in and I saw a big hole, so I went for it. My coaches said to go for it when I get the chance," the junior defensive back said.
His runback cut it to 10-7 with 3:04 remaining, but Pac-Five recovered the onside kick. On fourth and inches at the ‘Iolani 42-yard line, the ‘Pack went for it and lined up in a shotgun. The snap zipped through Alvarado’s hands and Look recovered at the Pac-Five 33-yard line with 2:38 left. Seven plays later, Foy tossed the go-ahead touchdown pass.
At Aloha Stadium
| ‘Iolani (4-0, 1-0) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
— |
16 |
| Pac-Five (1-3, 0-1) |
7 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
— |
10 |
P5—Keoni Tom-Millare 12 run (Gabriel Shimizu kick)
P5—Shimizu 33 FG
Iol—Max Look 59 punt return (Jordan Genovia kick)
Iol—Tanner Nishioka 8 pass from Reece Foy (Genovia kick)
Iol—Safety, Esau Sele sack Reece Alvarado
RUSHING—‘Iolani: Foy 14-69, Kody Mento 8-23, Yuuya Kato 3-11, Chad Hanaoka 1-1. Pac-Five: Tom-Millare 32-150, Vance Fuchigami 4-16, Roycen Routt 4-8, Kekoa Iseri 2-7, Alvarado 8-(-27).
PASSING—‘Iolani: Foy 17-33-0-118. Pac-Five: Alvarado 4-5-1-53.
RECEIVING—‘Iolani: Austin Ohira 6-37, Hanaoka 4-36, Nishioka 4-12, Chase Kanekuni 2-23, Connor Ohira 1-10. Pac-Five: Ian Schumaker 2-22, Tom-Millare 1-18, Tsubasa Brennan 1-13.
